The principle is simple: Our actual vehicles become the nodes for a massive, moving Wi-Fi network, one that would bounce data around between points, i.e. that trusty four-door or other car, all while alerting onboard computers of any problems up ahead. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Wi-Fi, like you’ve got at Starbucks or at home. It’s more like a souped-up, high-powered, encrypted ad-hoc network.

Imagine a car (or several) slamming on their brakes due to an accident up ahead. A system like this would instantly know that this took place, and could communicate that to all other oncoming autos for half a mile. It’s not hard to see why this concept has gotten tremendous support from the likes of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has already said it would like to see all cars outfitted for such a system by 2013. And Ford Motor Company is actively exploring this technology. The latter is no surprise; Ford has spent the past year touting its Sync Destinations cloud-sourced traffic data solution. This would be like a progression from that, one that wouldn’t shock a consumer market already acquainted with integrated GPS/satellite and cellular networks.

The primary use of this intelligent network would be to offer real-time, instantly accessible data that could ease congestion, save lives and, at the least, burn less fuel (as fewer cars would be hanging around, waiting in colossal cluster fumps of traffic). But there’s also potential in a secondary use-case: lifestyle apps.

For example, imagine parking structures rigged up to communicate with this network. Drivers would more easily be able to contact their destination, reserve a space, and even get directions that guide them to a specific spot. Intelligent roads could warn drivers of pothole maintenance ahead, so they could adjust their routes. Toll booths would be able to let people know the lines in front are jammed, or how much their toll is, and even accept an instant credit card payment ahead of time. And there are many more benefits for safety purposes, government works or emergency response.

There are literally endless ways to use this type of technology, much of which can’t even be imagined yet. And that’s where I get a little nervous.

What happens if we increasingly rely on such systems? Would they become targets for a tech wunderkind to tunnel into? Sure, this version is highly encrypted, but that hasn’t stopped hackers from breaking their way into other “locked-down” networks. And given that we’re talking about our transportation routes, the stakes could be really high. In the hands of kids, hacks could turn into irritating, inconvenient pranks that go from funny to dangerous in a heart beat. That alone is scary. Now imagine about what could happen if the hacker wasn’t just some rambunctious kid, but a genuine terrorist. I shudder to think.

What’s your take on this? Do the benefits of intelligent cars outstrip the risks? Or should the potential security vulnerabilities end this concept before it even really gets underway?

TechnoBuffalo.com is a technology site created by a team of professional writers that are self-proclaimed tech-enthusiasts. Their articles cover a breadth of technology-related issues and topics from the everyday uses to the business side of the industry.

Comments

With all this in the pipe, will anyone be able to do DIY repairs anymore? Or will we be at the mercy of the dealers? I'm a geek, but I certainly do not want any of my "freedoms" impinged upon. Especially not by technology!

Your car will have GPS for your position and maps which would have things like street direction (one-way/two-way, spped limit, etc) and it can read your speedometer. So, then the car itself could give you tickets for speeding, illegal U-turn.

And we could tie it into electronic parking meters then the car could auto-pay the meter up to the maximum then write you a parking ticket.

No cops necessary. I think we could put the ticket printer right in the glovebox since that's where tickets go anyway.

Or better yet, the car could just access your bank account and pay the fines for you. You never even have to be involved. Until the data which was fed directly to your auto insurance comany cancels your policy. And all of this hits the police system which triggers an arrest warrant which catches you completely by surprise.

One thing leads to another until at best, you are shaving a yak, or at worst you have triggered the Zombie Apocalypse.

"Your update has been installed. Please pull onto the berm so that your car can reboot". "Your braking system has stopped responding. Force Close or Wait?" "Your car is unable to open the critical emergency file it just received (50 car pile-up 1/4 mile ahead in the fog). Do you want your car to search the web for a solution?" Somehow I don't see these "real time" computerized dreams as being a good thing when moving along an 8 lane highway at 70+ MPH.It would be a gamble much like removing human intervention from military mechanized weaponry.

I was recently in a friend's Ford Focus rental car which featured sync. Having never experienced it, we tried it out and found it to be completely unusable. The options you wanted were never the ones given. We were completely unimpressed. I think car makers need to stay away from technology until it's truly ready for prime time. Once it works 100% of the time I think it would be fine however I think we would have to be careful of the governmental revenue stream connection others have mentioned.

There's also the question of privacy issues. Having access to data from this kind of stuff would be a dream come true for insurance companies or various government organizations. So in addition to the risk of being hacked, there's the potential risk to one's civil liberties. Holy 1984 Batman!

all I want is a "smart" car (one I can still drive, but has these convenience items).

The only way I could see automatic self-driving cars becoming reality would be to have various sensors, radio waves maybe, and maybe the only thing it would require from the internet is possibly a map like a television, no data involved, just possibly images and landmarks to aid in control... I'd prefer for any "Updates" to be handled via USB. Pretty much just a computer car that processes how to drive itself, not have "The Cloud" handle it, I don't like "The Cloud"

They already have cars that can park themselves, all newer cars, have electronic fuel pedals now, and have a network already built in (CAN) so all the different modules can communicate with each other. Adding this to the puzzle it would only be a matter of time before someone figured out a way to introduce a virus, malware, or something like that, that would cause the system to do something when certain parameters are met.